Costa Rica’s national soccer team went to Jamaica last night needing a win, yet it came away with another loss. Haiti beat La Sele 2-0 in the Concacaf Nations League, and the game was basically over by halftime. The Nations League is a tournament for national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. It matters more than it sounds, because how teams finish helps decide who plays in the Gold Cup, the region’s biggest championship.
The match was played at Sabina Park in Kingston because Haiti has been playing its home games in Jamaica, since insecurity at home makes hosting impossible. Kickoff was 5 p.m. Costa Rica time and believe it or not Costa Rica actually started well. Josimar Méndez had an early shot that nearly went in, but then, less than 10 minutes in, Haiti scored on its very first real attack.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, a midfielder who plays in England’s Premier League for Wolverhampton, fired a low, tight shot past Costa Rica goalkeeper Abraham Madriz. The goal knocked the wind out of the Ticos for a good stretch. Costa Rica kept trying, but it never really threatened. A long-range shot and a couple of crosses were about all it could manage. When Orlando Sinclair did get a clear look, Haiti goalkeeper Alexandre Pierre shut the door.
The second goal was the painful kind. In the 39th minute, Haiti forward Fabrice Picault took a shot that clipped Costa Rica defender Francisco Calvo and bounced into the net. At first, it looked like Picault’s goal but Concacaf later ruled it an own goal by Calvo, because Picault’s original shot wasn’t headed on target.
Coach Fernando Batista made two changes at halftime, sending in Gerson Torres and Douglas López for Sebastián Acuña and Carlos Mora. It didn’t help. Costa Rica had spells with the ball in the second half but never found a way to score. The lineup raised eyebrows before the game even started. Batista picked the same 11 players who lost to Curaçao on Thursday.
That loss is still stinging. Costa Rica led Curaçao 3-0 at home at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa and somehow lost 4-3. Before last night’s game, Batista called that second-half collapse an accident. After two games, Costa Rica has zero points. Haiti and Curaçao both have six points at the top of Group A, with Curaçao in first on goal difference after beating Nicaragua 5-0 on Sunday. Only the top two teams advance to the quarterfinals.
Costa Rica isn’t officially eliminated yet but it has two group games left in October, away to Nicaragua and at home against Haiti. It likely needs to win both and hope the teams ahead of it drop points. There’s a bigger risk, too as a poor finish in the group could send Costa Rica down to the Nations League’s second division, which would make it harder to reach the Gold Cup.
All of this puts Batista’s job back in the spotlight. His future was already under scrutiny after the Curaçao loss, and Rónald González, the federation’s director of national teams, decided to keep him. Sunday’s result makes that decision a lot harder to defend as the numbers aren’t kind. Costa Rica hasn’t won a game in 2026, with five losses and a draw, all under Batista.
This is a team trying to rebuild after missing the 2026 World Cup. Haiti, which beat Costa Rica 1-0 in World Cup qualifying last November, is now two for two in this tournament. For now, the gap between the two sides is hard to ignore.
